Question of the Day

Ham gravy is made by using drippings from fried ham, adding some water and also many times coffee. Do you know which president is associated with calling this type of gravy Red Eye Gravy?

If you think you know the answer or just want to take a guess, comment below!

Answer: It was our 7th president, Andrew Jackson. His cook had been having a little too much corn whisky the previous evening so his eyes were somewhat red. The next day when General Jackson wanted his lunch prepared he asked the cook to make some country ham with gravy as red as his eyes. Apparently, others overheard this and that is why ham gravy is now known as Red Eye Gravy.

Speaking of vegetables, do you know which vegetable is the only one that is never sold canned, cooked or frozen? It is only sold fresh.

Answer: Did you figure it out? It is lettuce!

Do you know what the five most popular apple varieties are here in the United States? Look for the comment button below to click on it. Then give us your answers!

Answers: Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith

Today in history in 1861, William Wrigley, Jr. was born. He was the man who created Juicy Fruit and Wrigley's Spearmint gum. He didn't start out selling gum but he did decide to offer merchants free chewing gum when they bought a certain product of his. Do you know or can you guess what that product was?

Answer: Baking powder

Can you guess what is the most popular sandwich in America? Let's see your answers by commenting below!Answer: According to many sources, it is the ham sandwich followed by the BLT. However, other sources say differently so we may never know the real answer! What's your favorite?Can you name the actress who was inspired by this line. . ."When I was in kindergarten, I had one line in a little play. I said, I am Patrick Potato and this is my cousin, Mrs. Tomato, and I heard laughter. I wanted to be an actress from that moment on."Answer: I didn't know the answer, did you? If you guessed Doris Roberts, you were right! She is probably best known for her role as Marie Barone in Everybody Loves Ramond.In a previous post, I have already mentioned that blueberries are native to North America. There are only two other fruits that share this distinction as well. Can you name them?Answer: That would be concord grape and cranberrySince I made shortbread cookies the other day, I've been doing a little research about this delectable treat. Have you ever wondered how they got their name? It came from this one important ingredient. Can you guess what it is?

The answer is shortening. Another interesting tidbit is that it was called bread by bakers of long ago because they avoided having to pay the tax that was placed on biscuits.

According to Nathan's Famous Frankfurters site, they have been holding a hot dog eating contest since 1916 and it is held every year on the 4th of July. It takes place in Coney Island, New York. Last year it was telecast on ESPN and there were over 1 million viewers! You can read morehere.

My question for you concerns an actor who loved these dogs so much that he wanted them served at his funeral. Do you know who it is?Answer: Walter Mathau and they were served at his funeralWho is the world's largest cereal company? (Hint: they use oats in many of their products) Answer: Why it's the Quaker Oats Company. It was founded in 1850 and was called the German Mills Cereal Company until 1877. It is known for its trademark oatmeal but it also makes Quaker Squares, Simple Harvest and Life cereal.

Speaking of oregano, do you know which favorite dish of World War II soldiers increased the popularity of this herb in the United States? Answer: Pizza, of course!

Which country's citizens consume the most vegetables per year? Give us your best guess by clicking on the word "comment" below!

Answer: If you guessed Greece, you would have been right! According to top5ofanything.com they consume 257.0 kg per capita followed by South Korea (249.8 kg), Turkey (237.9 kg) Jordan (215.5 kg) and China (212.5 kg).Can you guess which company was the first to nationally distribute barbecue sauce here in the United States? I'll give you a hint. . . the year was 1951.Answer: The Louis Maull Co. was actually the first company to commercially produce barbecue sauce and the year was 1923. However, Heinz was the first company to nationally distribute barbecue sauce here in the U.S.What is the most popular ingredient added to grilled cheese sandwiches?

Answer: tomato!

In honor of Easter this Sunday, here is a question for you. . . which country introduced the Easter Bunny to America? Click on the comment button below to give us your thoughts!

Answer: Germany

Why do you cut a cross in your Irish Soda Bread (other than to help it bake more evenly)? Tell us what you think!

Answer: Some say it was to ward off evil or to "let the devil out". Some say it was to make it easy to divide the bread in four pieces. Still others believe that the "X" was a cross symbolizing Christ during the Christian holidays.Which president is credited with bringing the first eggplants to the United States? Take a guess by commenting below!

Answer: Did you figure it out? It was Thomas Jefferson. He was always experimenting in his garden at Monticello. Mr. Jefferson liked to discover new plants and grew lots of vegetables (and flowers) from all around the world.

In honor of today being President's Day, I have a question for you. Can you take a guess at what was served at the first State Dinner on May 29, 1789?

As usual, give us your best guess by commenting below. I'll let you know if you're right!

Since we're on the subject of chocolate, I have a question for you. Who invented the first Valentine's Day candy box? Give us your answer by commenting below. I'll tell you if you're right on Valentine's Day!

Hint: This chocolate manufacturing family is still making chocolate today.

In
honor of the big game happening on Sunday, here is a question for you.
The sale of this product increases 20% (per 7-Eleven) the day after
Super Bowl Sunday. It is also the biggest sales day for this product.
What is it?

Some of you had some good guesses but the answer is antacid! Do you think it could be because in the U.S., Americans consume the most food after Thanksgiving?!!

Yesterday I told you what the world's second most popular spice is? Can you guess what the first one is? Comment below!

Answer: If any of you guessed salt, that would not be the answer because it is actually a mineral. However, pepper is a spice and that's the most popular.According to tradition, what shaped foods should you eat on New Year's Eve that will bring you luck?

Answer: Ring-shaped because it is said to bring good luck. It represents that you come full circle in a year.

What cookie began as an edible Christmas ornament?

Give us your best guess by commenting below!

A little elf told me that animal crackers is the answer. They
were introduced to America in 1902 and initially they were a seasonal
product meant to be an edible Christmas tree ornament. Hence, the
reason for the string on the colorful box!

Name the cookie that was first associated with Christmas.

Give us your answer by commenting below. I will give you the answer in a few days!

According to http://www.best-ever-cookie-collection.com/cookie-trivia.html, the German gingerbread (lebkuchen) is that cookie.

What is the most popular oatmeal topping? Let us know what you think it is by commenting below!

Answer: Milk. Other
popular toppings are: sugar, fruit (raisins,
bananas) and butter/margarine. Among the most
unusual are: eggnog, peanut butter, cottage
cheese and brewer's yeast. What have you tried?

Source: http://www.namamillers.org/ci_products_oats_fun.html

Okay,
let's see if you can give me a good guess to this question. . . The
earliest evidence of our ancestors eating soup goes back to 6000 BC! Do
you know what kind of soup it was?

It
is so simple to tell me what you think the answer is. . . just click on
comment below and type in your guess. I'd really love to hear what you
have to say!!

Answer: Can you believe it is hippopotamus soup? I never would have guessed it!!

Which
country brought the tradition of pumpkin carving to the United States?
And do you know which vegetable was first used to carve (pumpkins weren't the first)?

I'd love to hear your guesses so comment below. I'll tell you if you guessed right in a few days!

Answer: Well, did you guess right? The answer is Ireland. They started this ritual hundreds of years ago. They initially carved turnips to make their jack-o-lanterns. It wasn't until Irish immigrants came to America and discovered pumpkins that this new tradition of carving pumpkins began.

How many boxes of macaroni & cheese does Kraft sell per day?

The answer may surprise you!! It's more than 1 million boxes -- that's per day!

Sugar cookies are in the top ten most popular homemade cookie list.
Here's the question -- on that list, what number are sugar cookies? Can
you guess the nine other most popular homemade cookies?

Let's see who knows the answer to this . . . In the United States, more
pizzas are sold on which five days throughout the year? I have a
feeling you can guess the number one answer. Even if you only have a
few guesses, comment below so we can see them!

Did you figure out the #1 answer?

Answers:

1. Super Bowl Sunday

2. New Year's Eve

3. Halloween

4. The night before Thanksgiving

5. New Year's Day

Black beans are the most popular beans in which two countries?Give me your answer and I'll let you know if you're right!

Answer: Costa Rica and Cuba -- were you right?!

What fresh fruit was the first to bear a trademark?

What do you think? Take a guess by commenting below!

Answer: Did anyone figure it out? It was the orange. In 1919 the
California Fruit Growers Exchange burned 'Sunkist' on their oranges.

(Source: http://www.foodreference.com/html/foranges.html)

Which famous artist often painted peaches? Give us your best guess by commenting below!!

Answer: Paul Cezanne did per http://www.peach-facts.com/index.html. He was a french painter often called the "Father of Modern Art". He was born January 19, 1839 and died on October 22, 1906. If you would like to see a complete list of his works click on this link: http://www.paul-cezanne.org/home-12-24-1-0.html. Be forewarned -- there are 739 paintings! There is also a biography and a slideshow included.

Early American colonists made what color paint by boiling blueberries in milk?

Answer:
Of course, blue would have been the obvious answer, then maybe purple
but neither of those would have been correct. The color they created
was gray.

Ice cream is sold the most on which day of the week?

Give me your best guess!

Answer: I would have guessed a Friday or Saturday but I would have been wrong. The correct answer is Sunday.

"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie." Which cartoon character said this?

Answer: Garfield, of course (as told through his creator, Jim Davis)!

Which candyhas onlyone ingredient -- sugar?

Answer: Did anyone know the answer? It was cotton candy!

Where did this expression come from: "When fate hands you a lemon, make lemonade"?

Who made it famous?

Answers:
Dale Carnegie came up with the original expression but Joan Collins
made it famous. Her version was a little bit different though. She
said "If life throws you a lemon -- make lemonade".

What major U.S. city
eats more lime-flavored jello than any other city in the world? I'll
give you time to think it over before I give you the answer! Give up?!

The answer -- Salt Lake City. In 2001, a petition was signed by 14,000 residents of Utah making Jell-O the official state snack.

There were two peanut farmers elected president of the United States. Who were they?

Answer: Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter (did you guess right?!)

What fruit is more efficient than caffeine at waking you up in the morning?

. . . and the answer is . . . apple!

Which country is potato salad able to trace its origins from?

Answer:
Germany -- did you guess right?! It has been traced as far back as the
1600s when it was popular to use spices and vinegar on potatoes.

How many seeds does an average strawberry have?

Answer: 200 (and of course you know they are on the outside!)

Do you know why bubble gum started out as pink?

Answer:
The candy maker colored the bubble gum pink because that was the only
coloring he had around. That's why its mostly pink today!